PAU RUANO
LEVEL DESIGNER
LEVEL BASED IN RUPIT
This level prototype started as an exercise to put into practice an asset I created to make 3D levels in a comfortable and fast way during gamejams. The idea of creating this asset was to generate simple structures that could be easily decorated to improve the workflow between designers and artists during gamejams. With this level I put this asset into practice to verify its performance in terms of level prototyping and its feasibility and comfort.
To create the level I based it on the Catalan village of Rupit for a hypothetical Life is Strange style adventure game. The level would be equivalent to the first level of the mentioned game, being a very linear level with several points of interest for the player along the way.
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Engine: Unity
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Duration: 5h aprox.
HIGHLIGHTS
OBJECTIVE
Create a level using a previously created asset to see its feasibility and find possible bugs. Additionally focus on the creation of the level so that the player gets rewards for exploring the playable area.
CHALLENGES
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Create a level based on a semi-natural environment that does not feel square and artificial using square and tileable assets.
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Use unmesurable rewards to encourage the player to investigate the playable surface of the level.
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Encapsulate charming scenes at certain points of interest for the player to discover as they follow the Golden Path
PROBLEM 1
How to create a level with a rural or semi-natural atmosphere using square assets and avoiding the level to be gridded and artificial?
SOLUTIONS
To avoid this artificial grid effect the level was created using two bases:
1. Making the terrain irregular, avoiding the artificial and straight lines to create a natural feeling and a more organic environment.
2. Placing the assets such as houses, fences and other elements in such a way that they are not aligned with each other. This way the imaginary line that is created between them is never straight and gives the level a more organic feel.
PROBLEM 2
How to create non-mesurable rewards (i.e. that is nothing "obtainable") to encourage the player to explore?
SOLUTIONS
In the same way that Live is Strange does, exploring give the player certain events as rewads. These are based on one-off conversations, line of dialogue fromm the protagonist and specific events.
Points of interest in the form of charming scenes are also used as rewards for this project.
PROBLEM 3
How to encapsulate charming scenes at certain points of interest for the player to discover as they follow the Golden Path?
SOLUTIONS
In order to create these scenes, we have sought to gibe each one a unique and special touch to avoid the player feeling a sense of repetition in these types of rewards. These scenes contain everything from architecture to natural landscapes and are intended to serve as motivation for explotarion.
